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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 5:02 pm
Sitting outside the den she shared with the dark male and his other wives, Orah watched the pride moving about and tried to think. Think and remember... The first tracing circles while the other faded off into a blank haze of nothing. All this time spent here already, and she still wasn't any closer to knowing herself. All this time, and she still barely knew anyone. She'd met O'tep, briefly, but beyond that less than stellar meeting... she'd ghosted along, staying out of the way, being quiet, and in general being nothing more than a lovely decoration.
Was it time to just move on? The thought scared her deep in her core, without explanation. But to just stay like this... each day that passed seemed to tie her down further, tighter, to this place and these people. Did she want that, to stay? She hadn't intended to, but... with her thoughts so formless, it was hard to think of the why of anything, or the best course of action to take.
"There's only so much a girl can do, only so far she can go before she has to ask... what's it all for?" She sighed to herself, her ears splaying back with a faint look of wistful sadness. It was a hard thing not to know yourself.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 5:37 pm
Ukoo had felt a deep grieving for when Weyward was taken from their den so soon after arriving. Ukoo felt guilt for not knowing her that well... especially now that O'tep and her were not talking anymore. Hell, Ukoo wouldn't go near her... her wounds ached from the fight they had only the day before. Ukoo was not a fighter and was small for her age, so she was not much of a match for her stronger sister. And now her heart ached as well.
She hadn't really had time to sit and chat with Orah. She felt the need to have someone to lean on at this moment, and the one she usually did that with was O'tep. Since the cubs were born, O'tep and Tariq were growing closer and O'tep was growing less disobeidant and in return Tariq treated her better. Ukoo could not wrap it around her head why Tariq didn't love her like that...
She was such a good Banu and yet she got nothing.
She had been watching Orah for a few moments now and decided today would be a good day to approach her.. and get to know her. They were sisters and Ukoo wanted to be close to someone again. So she padded over to the striped lady, her head hangning a bit lower than usual. The pink and red marks on her recalled her latest meeting with a sister.
"Sister Orah..."
Uggi had been watching mommy be sad for so long now and she didn't understand why. She didn't know how O'tep and her were before and so far only knew what she was told. She had been content with sitting in the nest with her siblings and playing with the motherless cubs that stayed with them but today she felt immense sadness from her mommy. She had toddled out from the nest when Ukoo stood and went to the dark lioness. She padded along behind her, pudgy paws stepping high and imitating her mothers steps.
She grinned to herself, not really knowing any of the seriousness of it all. All she knew was that her legs weren't long enough to walk like mommy.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 6:08 pm
The dark lioness blinked at the sound so close and turned to see who'd called to her. Sister? Well, that was a pretty loose term, really... she hadn't really decided if she was one of Tariq's banus, though everyone seemed to assume she was.
"Oh, um... hello, Ukoo. You look well today. How are you feeling?" Orah smiled sweetly, hoping an open and friendly expression would help ease the way. She seemed fine, even poised and elegant on her own, but confronted with someone unfamiliar? She turned shy and awkward, unsure of herself.
"Oh!" She cooed when she saw the cub toddling after her, bending down to rumbled happily at her. Cubs were a joy, and never ones to feel self-conscious around. Cubs were a joy, no matter the time or place, at least in her mind. "Hello, little one. Having fun today?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 6:26 pm
Ukoo knew she was far from looking well today. She probably looked terrible. She certainly felt terrible. She sat down beside the dark lioness and gazed up at her with a small smile. "I am not feeling the greatest... Not since yesterday..." She said simply. It was a pretty much known fact now to the pride that the once inseperable lioness's had a fight and Ukoo lost poorly. She had been avoiding going out so that she didn't have to try to explain what happened.
She turned to see who's attention Orahs had fallen on and a smile crawled across her face. "That is Uggi, my daughter... " She said with a grin, one of warmth and happiness. Her cubs made her so happy... She reached out a paw and slid Uggi close so she could squeeze her against her side for a moment. "She's supposed to be sleeping with her siblings."
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Uggi padded up to the two adult lionesses with a big beaming smile. "Hado!" She said sweetly, giggling at being pressed against her mommies side. She wrapped her short little paws around her mothers thigh before she was released and she stood up, looking up at Orah with those lovely eyes of her mothers. "Yesm. Twy'ing to make mommie feel betters too!" She said sweetly. In reality all the cubs had. They didn't understand why mommy was so happy a few days ago and now just wanted to sleep.
"Not sleepy mommy..." She said looking up at Ukoo with begging eyes. "No wanna nap."
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:20 pm
If Ukoo looked terrible, Orah was too kind to say so, preferring instead to give light compliments that might lift her mood. She felt a strong kinship to the lioness already, a deep instinctual thing she couldn't have explained even if she'd noticed the strange connection.
Perhaps it was only that, like Ukoo, she didn't quite fit in, left on the outskirts of the group.
"I'm sorry you feel poorly. I hope it gets better." She said softly, sitting with her paws neatly together and her tail curled about herself. She was a lovely picture, unconscious of the fact that she had been brought here to be just such an ornament, for Tariq's pleasure. "You have a lovely daughter though, and I'm glad to see your children make you happy... I have none of my own, but I've seen how others feel for them." Her voice was a little wistful, but there was warmth in her soft eyes. She wasn't entirely sure, though, whether her statement was true or not... she couldn't remember. What if she had little cubs like Uggi, waiting and perishing alone without their mother... it nearly made her cry to think of it, but there was little she could do for them, but hope and pray.
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 4:20 pm
Ukoo gazed lovingly down at her daughter for a moment before lifting her eyes to Orah. She nodded soflty. She hoped it would get better soon too.. but she didn't think it would. And her seer dreams hadn't clued her into what her future was so she was running around blind. "My children make me very happy. I wish I had been able to spend more time with my previous litter but circumstances brought me here before I saw their adulthood.'
She paused for a moment before patting uggi on the head affectionately. "I wonder why Tariq has not started a family with you as well... I mean, with Weyward gone now... you'd think he only has you really to have cubs with..." She said simply, looking down at Uggi again. He didn't love her cubs like he loved O'teps and that bugged her too.
"You are free to spend as much time as you want with my litter... you are their aunty... "
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Uggi padded over to the dark striped lioness that her mommy said was her aunty and draped herself across her front feet, pawing up at her with a wide grin. "Aunty aunty..." She said softly, her red eyes half lidded as she admired Orahs pale chest and stripes. Uggi liked her coat cause she had her mommys olive colors but she liked the pale creamy colors on Orah.
She lifted her paws up and looked at them for a moment. Their family was mostly one of dark lions, except Aunty O'tep.. whom mommy didn't like talking to anymore. "Aunty Orah."
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 11:06 am
Orah ducked her head in embarrassment at the mention of starting a family, her dark eyes wide and her ears layed back.
"S-start a family? Why... why would he do that? I mean... I'm just a guest, aren't I? I hardly know Tariq, though he's been very kind to me, giving me a place to stay and food to eat... I mean, is that enough of a reason to have cubs with him? And I don't even know how long I'm going to stay here... can I afford to have little ones to take with me?" Her voice quavered as she spoke, confusion and nerves showing in every word.
Sure, they treated her as one of the odd little 'family', but that didn't make it real, did it? She'd heard the terms 'banu' and 'beybanu' and 'kajira', but to have one applied to her... It started to occur to Orah that maybe she'd gotten a little more in this deal than she'd first realized.
Had Tariq... lied to her? No, no he hadn't really lied... but she suspected that he hadn't told her everything. Like considering her part of his harem, rather than just a guest, because that's what Ukoo's words seemed to hint at.
Her sudden panicked thoughts were halted in surprised when a warm little body sprawled over her feet. She blinked down at the cub that had come to cuddle, feeling some of her worry dissolve under the trusting eyes. She sighed softly as she patted the cub. Orah had some questions for the dark lion the next time she saw him, that was for sure.
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 8:18 am
Ukoo caught the lionesses expression and felt a bit of an anger towards Tariq. Had he lied to this lioness to get anouther Banu? She tisked, looking down at uggi for a moment. "Well, I am going to guess that was his intentions, to make you one of his harem... thats-thats just what he does..." She said, looking a bit uncomfortable herself. "I mean, I was brought here while I was in a walking dream, you know when you are asleep but up and about... so I woke up here..."
She reached over and prodded Uggi's chubby bottom with her paw. "Tariq has saved me from a life of pain... this scar on my neck is proof of it... and the lives of my cubs.. though I left children back at my last pride as well... which I sadly regret..." She said softly. ..........................................................................................................................
Uggi snuggled against Orah for a moment, hoping she was making her feel better, gazing up at her with the eyes of Ukoo. She was just like her mother in a way, kindness and goodness showing through always. "Aunty Orah." She said softly, pressing herself against her as she was patted. "Mommy says Aunty Orah is so pretty colored..." she said sort of randomly, a typical child babbling about anything. "... Mommy says that why Daddy Tariq wanted her."
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:46 am
Orah ducked her head in embarrassment again, a sweet, shy little smile on her face.
"Thank you, Uggi..." She said softly, stroking her back lightly. "Tariq has been very kind to me, truly, but... I just don't know! I don't remember anything. I don't know why I'm here or where I came from... I guess I've no reason to go, but is that a good reason to stay?" Her voice quavered as she thought out loud, more confused and torn by the moment. The more she tried to think, the more her thoughts grew fuzzy and disconnected, and the more panicked she became.
"What should I do?" She said plaintively, her voice sounding very young and lost in that moment.
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:06 am
Ukoo didn't really know how to comfort the lioness. She had always had the 'slave' concept engraved in her head so being in this pride was natural to her... to be in the mindset for this home. "I don't know Orah... because if you tried to leave and got caught, you'd be executed..." She said simply, her head lowered and her eyes nervous.
"I mean... it isn't so bad here Orah..."
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:26 pm
The brown lioness started at that news, her eyes widening as she rocked back on her haunches.
"E-executed? But... but Tariq said... said I was a guest here!" She stammered as her voice quaivered, tears welling up in her eyes. "Am I a prisoner, then?" This was radical news to Orah. She'd trusted the black male, trusted the pride... had everything just been mistaken perception?
This would take some deep thought and some strong words with a certain male... even as Orah quailed inside from confronting him, she needed to know the truth. Was she not allowed to leave? Not wanting to was a different thing... being held without a choice was not something she felt comfortable with.
"I... I need to... to think." She stammered as she darted to her feet, forgetting the cub she'd been cuddling in her haste. Turning tail, she scrambled to be away from the two females, to run from the frightening news. She needed Tariq, she needed to know the truth!
Guest... or prisoner?
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 2:51 pm
Ukoo was sure she had said the wrong thing at the wrong time. She blinked her red eyes, making a grimace. She looked down to Uggi and with a light shove, sent her off to play nearby. "Go over there for a moment sweety... Mommy has somethings to talk about with her sister..." She said softly, before turning back to Orah. "Forgive me Orah... I shouldn't have said it like that... "
She winced as the lioness was in obvious panic. Oh what had she done?
.......
Uggi frowned when her mommy told her to go play but she would like a good girl. She padded off a bit, lifting her paws high up in the air to imitate a bird she saw once. She knew her mother had important things to talk to her aunty about but she wondered what. She would ask later.
For now she was intent on playing by herself.
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